"Kurt Warner hasn't made a decision about retirement. On the plane ride home from Saturday's playoff loss to New Orleans, the quarterback spoke with Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and said he "needed time."

Reporters were meandering through the team's training-facility locker room Sunday, sniffing for clues as players emptied their spaces. Warner would say one thing that hinted "retirement" and something else five minutes later that screamed "he's coming back."

"If I thought lobbying would help, I'd lobby," Whisenhunt said.

It won't. Warner has far more powerful forces tugging at him: his family, his faith and his love of the game.

It is easy to find reasons he would step away, even with one year and as much as $11 million left on his contract. Many athletes "Favre it" and unretire because they fail to find a comparable means to fill the void. Little can match the visceral rush of an NFL

stage. Warner is a different animal, as anyone who has seen him grow giddy during discussions of his family and faith can attest.

His indecision, however, suggests he still is feeling the pull of the sport. Here are several things that could happen in the short term to sway the quarterback to return for another season:

• His health checks out.

Players underwent exit physicals Sunday, and although Warner was examined thoroughly after suffering a concussion against St. Louis in November, he wants to make sure his 38-year-old body still is running smooth.

Interestingly, he said Sunday that his "body actually feels pretty good, probably better than it felt over the last three years."

For an organization that wants him to return, that's a good sign. His biggest hurdle is deciding if he still is willing to put in the effort away from game day.

"The farther I've gotten into this, the more and more I demand of myself," he said. "Putting in the work and time gets to be more and more of a burden every year. Do I want to put in all the time during the week and the off-season work to prepare?""